


Sore Eyes

by lakeghost



Category: Carry On Series - Rainbow Rowell, Simon Snow & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Domestic Fluff, Domestic Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow, Fluff, Gen, Glasses, Light-Hearted, M/M, Married Life, One Shot, Post-Canon, Short One Shot, nearsighted vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25510471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lakeghost/pseuds/lakeghost
Summary: Baz in glasses > Baz in jeans
Relationships: Tyrannus Basilton "Baz" Pitch/Simon Snow
Comments: 2
Kudos: 104





	Sore Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> Set in that vague fanon universe where Baz teaches and Simon bakes and it's all very chill
> 
> something short and sweet to lift your spirits

Baz wearing glasses was a revelation. From where he was sitting, Simon could just see the edge of his frames beyond his temple - a tease. Baz grumbled and set aside the topmost essay. Simon couldn’t help the smile sneaking onto his face.

***

Initially, Baz thought he was getting headaches from the terrible handwriting of his students.

“I swear,” he bit out one evening, “half these children have never held a pen before.”

Simon got up to stand behind him at the desk. At first, they set up a separate office in the flat, but Baz usually wound up balancing work on his lap in the living room by the end of the night. He claimed the room got too cold. Simon thought he couldn’t focus unless he had someone to ignore.

“They’re teenagers,” said Simon. He ran his fingers through Baz’s hair, who leaned into the touch.

“Even worse, then.” Baz leaned slightly forward and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Headache again?”

Baz nodded. “I just need a second.”

“You’ve been reading for hours, it’s probably just eye strain.”

“Vampires don’t get ‘eye strain’,” said Baz.

“You read that in the vampire handbook?”

Baz turned in his chair to glower up at Simon. “My eyes are fine.”

Simon considered said eyes - grey like mist over a lake, sharp as blades. _More than fine_ , thought Simon. He shrugged. “Alright then.”

  


A week or so later, Penny had been over for dinner. It was the end of the night, and they were all a little bit tipsy, so when Penny offered Baz her glasses, he didn’t outright refuse.

“Go on then. Give it a go.” Penny waggled the glasses in Baz’s face.

“I don’t need glasses, Bunce. Why would I?” Baz was leaning against Simon, who had his feet on the coffee table and was trying not to laugh. From across the table, Penny sighed with exasperation. She flung the pair at Baz’s head, and he snagged them out of the air.

“Do it,” she said, full of mock seriousness. Simon elbowed him, forcing him to sit up.

Baz narrowed his eyes at the glasses, then put them on.

He opened his eyes comically wide, then took them off. Then back on.

“What did you spell these with? **Rose-tinted glasses**? **Clearly now**?” asked Baz, accusing.

“Nicks and Slick, Baz, they’re just my glasses. And I’d like to see your priceless expression, so if you could kindly hand them back,” she gestured for him to return them. Baz continued to hold the lenses in front of his face, swiveling around to look at the whole room.

“I can’t believe this.”

“What, that you’re a bit near-sighted?” scoffed Penny. She leaned back in her chair, smiling.

“ _Yes_ ,” said Baz. He continued to look bewildered. “For snake’s sake, I can see in the _dark_. Can you - Snow, what does that say?” Baz pointed across the room, just beyond Penny, to the book laying on his desk.

“Uh,” Simon squinted, “ _Phonemic Changes of the Middle Ages_?”

Baz groaned. “And you can just read that? From here?”

Simon was laughing, but he was trying to hide it. His shoulders still shook as he said, “Yeah, well enough.”

Baz finally handed the glasses back to Penny and covered his face with one hand.

“Have you never had your eyes checked?” asked Penny, grinning.

“What do you think?” Baz’s voice had a bit of an edge to it. Simon wrapped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him back against his side.

“I’ll go with you, if you want,” said Simon. He considered the fact Baz hadn’t been to a doctor since he was a toddler, and obviously dentists were out of the question - who knows what would turn up on the x-rays. “Moral support, and that.”

“I think I’ll just steal Bunce’s, thank you.” He sounded more relaxed now.

“It’ll take half an hour, Basil,” Penny said. She crossed her legs confrontationally.

And Baz wasn’t about to step down from a challenge.

***

Baz set his glasses delicately on the desk. The tops of the frames were heavy black acetate, with thin wire rims underneath. They clicked softly on the wood as he pushed his hair back from his face. Simon moved to the chair beside the desk and assessed the situation.

“That’s an awful lot of red ink.”

Baz turned to face him, folding his arms over the back of the chair. “It’s an awful lot of mistakes.”

“You should try using a different color - purple or green or something. Less scary,” said Simon.

“You think I scare them?” Baz quirked an eyebrow.

Simon laughed sharply. “What, their handsome, brilliant, vampire teacher?”

Baz rolled his eyes.

“I’m not saying you _shouldn’t_ be intimidating - it’d probably kill you to try - just use a friendlier pen.”

“What’s wrong with red?”

Simon shrugged. “Nothing, I guess. I just feel like it hits you harder. Like, I want to know what to fix, not what’s wrong.”

“That’s the same thing.”

Simon shrugged again. “Maybe. Maybe I’m just trying to distract you.” He tilted his head to the side. “Why’d you take your glasses off?”

“Eye strain.”

“I thought vampires didn’t get eye strain,” said Simon. He smirked triumphantly.

“Vampires don’t read thousands of words of indecipherable chicken scratch most evenings. It’s a special luxury reserved just for me.” Baz looked bored, now that his frustration had faded. He rolled his shoulder back to stretch his neck.

“If I ask nicely, will you put your glasses back on?”

“I’m not your dancing monkey,” said Baz as he reached forward.

“No, you’re my terrible husband.” Simon pulled his feet onto the chair and leaned into his knees.

Baz settled the frames onto the bridge of his nose with a flourish. It was like his eyebrows were underlined. Simon grinned. Baz shook his head, but a smile was spreading reluctantly across his face.

“Terrible.”

**Author's Note:**

> my working theory here is that a non-vampire Baz would have had really _really_ poor vision, and superpowers can only do so much (yeh it's a weak excuse but _Baz_. in _glasses_.)


End file.
